Older Bolder Life

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friday feast

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Merguez Sausage

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Marooned at home during these days of social distancing found us searching for a bit of a different spin on the traditional Easter dinner last weekend.

Our adult daughter Jess is spending some time with us, seeking some sunshine and a taste of spring after the long, cold, and dark Montana winter. She’s a photojournalist working in the outdoor space, and after recent journeys “BC”, which translates these days around our camp to before-COVID, she’s come to really enjoy Middle Eastern flavors.

After kicking around several options, we decided to make up a batch of Spicy Merguez Sausage, using a combination of lamb and pork belly; the pork belly was chosen in part as our favorite local butcher didn’t have pork fat on hand, but some very very nice belly.

We played around with several different batches of spices, and finally settled on this fairly traditional array including fennel seed, coriander seed, and cumin seed, enriched with paprika, garlic, a nice harissa, and a hint of fresh cilantro.

As you home-crafted sausage fans know well, freezing your meats pre-grind until they’re firm (20-30 minutes) makes them handle much better, and pre-toasting spices before grinding and mixing brings all sorts of additional, deeper, and richer flavor notes.

The truly ambitious can certainly whip up a batch of their favorite harissa as well, though we used a trusted commercially prepared brand and were quite happy.

3 pounds lamb shoulder or leg, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 pound skinless pork belly, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

2 tsp whole fennel seed
2 tsp whole coriander seed
2 tsp whole cumin seed
2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp good paprika
1 tsp cayenne

6-7 garlic cloves, trimmed and minced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/3 cup harissa (perhaps more)
1/3 cup ice water

Prep the two meats then spread in a single layer on a lined baking sheet; throw in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. (See note above.)

Meanwhile, toast the fennel, coriander, and cumin seed in a cast iron skillet over medium heat (preheat the skillet) until fragrant; remove to a pestle or spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Place in a small bowl and combine with the salt, paprika, and cayenne.

When ready to grind, scrape the chilled meats into a bowl, sprinkle with half the spice mixture, half the garlic, and half the harissa then toss to combine. Now grind the meats into a bowl set in ice through your small die.

Scrape the meat into the bowl of your stand mixer, add the remainders of the spice mixture, garlic, cilantro, and harissa, add the water, and mix on low speed until the mixture has combined and is uniform (and a little sticky).

While the rest of the sausage chills in the fridge, test cook a small patty and then adjust seasonings (pending how hot the harissa might be, we almost always add more).

Shape into patties (or links) or stuff into prepared casings.

Of course these need to stay in the fridge (or freezer) until cooked, and smell heavenly while sautéing until well-browned and cooked through.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Thyme Butter Basted Red Snapper

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For today’s Friday Feast I’m pleased to share a little trick that I learned this year during my brief stint working in a commercial restaurant kitchen during my “take a peek behind the curtain” look at the food industry.

As it turns out, the executive chef of the team I was working with had spent years running an upscale eatery in the Dallas metro that primarily focused on fresh seafood. The volume of fish and shellfish they prepared and served back in the day was absolutely staggering (Dallas/DFW is a metro that loves eating out), and this gentleman handled fish, shrimp, and oysters with a deft efficiency that was a marvel to watch.

Every time I had a chance I pestered him for tips and tricks that were readily translatable to the home kitchen, and the most useful one he shared was this very preparation that works for almost any fish, though we talked most often about using it for a firm fleshed white fish like red snapper and redfish here in Texas, though flounder, cod, halibut, and several other of course work as well. Leaving skin on one side (on the half shell, at least down here in the South) helps maintain the integrity of the fillet, though of course that’s up to you.

Having been taught over the years to pan sauté fish fillets over higher heat, I was a bit surprised at Chad’s insistence that the best way to prepare this dish was as follows.

Having prepped your fish (trimmed, washed, removed any remaining scales), the fillets need to be patted dry thoroughly while pre-heating a (preferably non-stick or a well-seasoned carbon steel) pan over medium-low heat.

Splash a tablespoon or two of avocado or olive oil in the pan (you’re cooking over lower heat, so olive oil works here), then season the fillets generously with good salt and perhaps a grind of fresh pepper (we also use a fresh cajun spice mix occasionally) and place skin side down in the heated pan.

You need to pay attention here, if the oil smokes, you’re running too hot; removed the pan, turn down the heat, put the pan back over the heat and be patient. Pending how thick your fillets are, you’ll most likely cook for 4-6 minutes before turning, and only after the fish has released from the pan. Don’t try to turn or “scrape it off” if the initial side hasn’t released – it will eventually.

Carefully turn the fillets using a fish spatula if you have one, and then drop in several generous pats of your favorite grass fed butter and a handful of fresh herbs – we’re partial to the magic that thyme brings to the dish, though experiment and try your favorites.

As the butter melts (and it might take a bit of time as you’re cooking over lower heat), tip the pan to one side, pooling the butter, and then spoon it over the fillets as they cook. Continue basting intermittently until the fish is cooked through to your preference.

After removing the fish to warmed plates and topping each with a few sprigs of thyme, squeeze half a lemon’s juice (or more if you wish) into the butter remaining in the pan, stir it in, and spoon over the fillets.

Enjoy this one, you’ll be coming back to it again and again.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: OB NOLA BBQ Shrimp

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Strolling by the seafood counter in my favorite grocery last week I spied a beautiful bin of wild caught Gulf brown shrimp on sale; after confirming they were plump and fresh I grabbed a pound and a half to cook through the last trial of this NOLA BBQ shrimp recipe we’ve been adapting (and spicing up) from Emerill’s version.

Barbecue shrimp done “New Orleans” style implies not shrimp done on the barbie, but shrimp pan sautéed, dripping with a garlic and Worcestershire spiked butter sauce, though there are probably literally dozens of variations floating around out there.

There are two things about Emerill’s classic recipe that my family has really enjoyed over the years – one is the deep, rich flavors that build using his technique to craft a shrimp stock using the shells. I’ve found that for the occasion when you buy a load of shrimp that have been shelled, you can sub in a prepared seafood stock for the water with great results too. Simmering the stock with a handful of various spices and lemons, then reducing it down significantly, yields flavors you’d never guess you could craft in your home kitchen.

The second thing we really like about this recipe is the fact that the cream based sauce has a bit more body, especially when mounted at the end with some nifty grass-fed butter.

This looks much more complicated than it is and comes together very quickly for the final cook. Just plan a bit of time to give the sauce simmer and reduction time to yield their magic.

And if you’re incorporating a carb refeed day into your routine, this is an absolute delight over a scoop of rice. Hot damn.

3 lb shell on or 1.5 lb shelled shrimp
1 tbsp creole/cajun seasoning
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
Fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp avocado oil, divided
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp fresh minced garlic
Reserved shrimp shells if using
3 bay leaves
2 tsp creole/cajun seasoning
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
2 lemons, peeled and sectioned
2 cups water (or seafood stock if not using shrimp shells)
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
Optional: 1/4 dry white wine or sherry
1/4 tsp good salt

2 cups heavy cream
3 tbsp grass fed butter
1 tbsp chives or small green onions, chopped fine

Wash and peel the shrimp if using shelled, reserving shells. Rub with 1 tbsp of your favorite creole seasoning and 1 tsp Old Bay, dust with black pepper, then throw in the fridge.

In a medium saucepan sauté the onion and garlic in 1 tbsp oil until just soft, then add the shrimp shells, bay leaves, creole and Old Bay seasonings, the prepped lemons, Worcestershire sauce, wine or sherry, salt, and 2 cups water (seafood stock if not using shells). Simmer for 30 minutes, cool and rest for 15 minutes or so, then strain into a small saucepan (should have about 1.5 cups).

Now reduce the flavored stock over medium-high heat until roughly 1/3 cup remains, set aside.

Finally, in a medium skillet heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat and sauté the spiced shrimp for 2 minutes or so until just opaque; add the cream and the reduced flavored stock, stirring to mix well.

Simmer for 3-4 minutes, then quickly remove the shrimp to a heated platter. Now whisk in the butter (cut into small pieces) and remove from heat. Spoon the thickened sauce over the shrimp, garnish, and go to it.

Hot damn, and enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Easy Mu Shu Pork Cheat

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This has become one of our favorite family quick stir fries, and it has a bit of history behind it as I shared several years on ChiWulff (a fly fishing blog) –

Our clan fell in love with the classic Chinese dish Mu Shu Pork believe it or not when camping at Gros Ventre campground out of Jackson a few decades back.

It became a must-do ritual to drive up from SLC, set up camp as quickly as possible, and then beat it back to town for dinner at the Lame Duck. The little hole in the wall place was down East Broadway, past the hospital almost to the end of the road where the branch to the Elk Refuge peels off. I don’t know how many times we ate there with the kids as they grew up; we even got to know one of the waitresses pretty well one summer.

The Duck’s long gone now, a victim of Jackson’s (unfortunate in many ways) transformation, though the memory of great dinners past lingers. They had the best sizzling rice soup any of us have ever tasted, and among many other delights – a great Mu Shu Pork.

We’ve tried over the years to recreate the dish; we’ve come close but never hit it on the money and haven’t tried for years now – until this quick (kinda’ve a cheater) version came across our radar a few weeks ago.

She Who Must Be Obeyed has been out of town all week on business and I can knock this entire prep out in under 20 minutes now (after a few practice rounds), given how it’s based off using an (at least partially) pre-seasoned commercial sausage you bring to life with some minced ginger and garlic…

With even the most basic of knife skills you can chop your way through this recipe in less than 10 minutes, and then you basically just sauté everything up in a large skillet, preferably a big-assed cast iron one.

As per the images attached, we most often enjoy this one hot right out of the pan, drizzled with sriracha or a paleo version of hoisin sauce. Classically the dish is served with small rice flour “pancakes”, which you can easily sub with any of the low-carb tortillas on the market today.

1 and 1/2 pounds commercial hot Italian sausage (casing removed)
2 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, minced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
Avocado oil or EVOO
7-8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, sliced thin
3-4 ounces wood ear mushrooms, sliced thin
8-9 cups Napa cabbage, thinly sliced, divided
1 large bunch green onions, trimmed and sliced into 1-in pieces, reserve 1/3 of total
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp good tamari or coconut aminos
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Butter or other lettuce leaves

Optional
1 can bamboo shoots, drained and cut into matchsticks
Sriracha, primal/paleo hoisin sauce, low-carb wraps

To get started, mince the fresh ginger and garlic and add to the sausage in a small bowl; work in evenly with your hands.

Heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a large cast iron skillet over med-high heat and brown the sausage mixture well, breaking it up into a small-medium crumble as you go. When it’s done, remove to a clean plate, reserving the drippings in the skillet.

Without reducing the heat, sauté the trimmed mushrooms in the drippings, you want them to release a bit of liquid, then brown and crisp up a bit (4 to 5 minutes should do it).

Now add half the sliced cabbage, the bamboo shoots and 2/3’s of the green onions: keep things moving until the cabbage is wilted. Now add the rice vinegar and soy sauce and simmer quickly until the liquid is for the most part reduced (won’t take but 2 or 3 minutes).

Remove from the heat and add the remaining cabbage and green onions, sprinkle the sesame seeds and oil over and stir it all in.

Serve hot in your lettuce wraps (or the wrap of your choice) slathered with Sriracha or your favorite primal/paleo hoisin.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Everything You Really Need to Know About Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

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With today being Valentine’s Day how about a few quick tips on how to make a nifty, indulgent treat at home – Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.

I have to confess that as a guy who spends most of his time in nutritional ketosis, I don’t consume near as much fruit as I used to. Enjoying some February strawberries really does seem like a treat, and we’ve extolled the luxury , and benefits of, modest amounts of good dark chocolate many times before.

There are hoards of recipes for this very treat floating around out there, and while dipping strawberries in good chocolate isn’t rocket science by any means, there are a tips that take your results from good to great. Thanks once again by the way to friend Chef Libby in Austin for her coaching and consultations over the years, including chatting about chocolate earlier this week.

Now to three tips to make your chocolate dipped strawberries the best ever.

The only really dip-able strawberry is a dry strawberry. Libby feels in particular that the most common reason chocolate dipped strawberries fail (and sometimes fail miserably) is that the fruit, including the green stems, have not been fully dried. She believes, as do I, that strawberries should be rinsed thoroughly, then dried carefully. Rinse (either with spray or in a bath) as per your routine, then dry each berry individually using paper towels (much more absorbent than woven towels). It’s also vital that you set the strawberries out to finish air drying for at least 30 minutes, sixty is even better.

To temper or not to temper your chocolate? While the art and science of tempering chocolate is beyond explanation in this post today, we (Libby and I) fall into the camp that tempered chocolate gives a far better, more consistent result for dipped fruits. The process isn’t very complicated – here’s a nifty, direct, and simple description of the process. And by the way, adding a teaspoon of a neutral oil adds gloss and softens the hardened chocolate ever so slightly so it doesn’t shatter when you take a bite of the coated fruit.

Finally, should you fancy your strawberries up with other coatings, or let the chocolate shine? Absolutely your choice, though Libby admits when she’s crafting a big batch of these for a catering gig, she’ll most often coat 1/3 with finely chopped nuts (pistachios and pecans being her favorites, and I used a bit of ground pistachio for these), leave 1/3 plain, and drizzle a contrasting melted chocolate over the final 1/3 (she suggests using a small “sandwich” plastic bag with a tiny section of a corner cut off like a miniature piping bag to decorate the berries).

2 pound medium strawberries
16 ounces good quality dark chocolate
1 tsp avocado oil

Optional
2-4 ounces “contrasting” chocolate
Chopped nuts (be creative)
Toasted shredded coconut

Wash and dry your strawberries very carefully as per the discussion above.

As noted above, melting chocolate can be done efficiently in the home kitchen a couple of ways – either using the microwave in short bursts (30 seconds, stir, then 15 seconds repeatedly until melted and smooth) or using a double boiler technique – using a pan set over another pan/pot of just barely simmering water. (See the comment about tempering chocolate above.)

Once your chocolate has melted, stir in the teaspoon of avocado oil until combined. Remove from the heat and start dipping.

Dip the prepped and dry strawberries into the chocolate, coating up to the shoulders of the berry, then gently scrape away excess chocolate using the lip of your chocolate bowl. If using, now’s the time to gently dip the coated strawberries into your chopped nuts or toasted coconut.

Place the berries on a parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet, and let them cool and harden at room temperature until set. Chilling the strawberries in the fridge can cause some condensation problems; we strongly suggest leaving them at room temperature to set and consuming them the day they’re dipped.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Reverse Seared Cowboy Ribeye Steak

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Most of us who enjoy a nice steak now and again have looked at that thick-cut, pristine ribeye sitting in all its glory on the counter and debated what cooking method might yield the very best tasting outcome on that given day.

Should I fire the grill (two zones of course), break out the sous vide circulator and cast iron, or sear it on the stove top?

Thin-cut steaks, and for my purposes today I’m talking about anything cut an inch or less thick, are a pretty easy cook (relatively speaking); they cook fairly quickly regardless of method and in fact pan-sear quite easily.

The thicker-cut steak(s) pose an interesting challenge for the carnivore; sometimes you nail it, but just as often your masterpiece is too rare or even worse, overdone, dry, and chewy.

We’ve shared before that we’re fans of sous vide to cook thick-cut proteins, using BPA-free plastic immersion bags of course, followed by a quick sear in cast-iron over high heat. We’ve been using that technique routinely now for a couple of years, though my son Jake in Montana recently challenged me to re-visit an old technique – the reverse sear.

We’ve used the reverse sear method to cook bone-in rib roasts for years now (what a great holiday treat), and have been cooking thick-cut, bone-in ribeyes this way for a few months (my favorite local market calls this particular cut pictured a cowboy ribeye – the rib bone is left in but it’s not as long as the over-marketed tomahawk steak). I have to admit, the results are amazing, and consistently produce the best steak the home cook can easily prepare at home.

The most critical caveat is that this method works best for thicker cuts, at least 1 and 1/2 inches and even better at 2 inches (or more).

There are several advantages to using the reverse sear method. Low and slow heat prevents overcooking and offers more control, and the warm oven dries the surface of your steak allowing for a better and more effective sear at the end. The reverse sear method is perfect for dialing in a medium-rare or medium steak, preserving more tender pink meat with smaller gray cooked (or overcooked) edges that any other technique.

Reverse sear shines with thicker cuts, allows for creation of a prize-winning crust when you do sear – use preheated cast iron and be creative with your fat (try ghee or bacon drippings!). And the fond and drippings in the pan can be used to whip up a tasty pan-sauce as well. And by the way, while not every one happens to have a sous vide circulator on the shelf, most of us have an oven handy.

The process really couldn’t be easier. Preheat the oven to 275 F and line a baking sheet with foil, then place a wire rack over the foil (allows hot air to circulate all around the steak).

Pat the surface of the steak(s) dry and liberally coat with salt and pepper, then place on the wire rack and slide into the oven.

Advice from steak experts varies as to when you need to start checking the internal temperature of the steak; for the steaks I’m routinely sourcing for our kitchen, I typically give them 20 minutes in the oven at 275F before starting to check internal temperatures with an accurate meat thermometer.

While it may sound like heresy, for the oven part of this process, you’re looking for temps of 90-95F for medium-rare and 100-105F for medium. Think about it, you’re not cooking the steak completely in the oven, and it’ll finish cooking during the sear to follow.

Over high heat on the stove top, and using a high smoke point oil (avocado oil, ghee, etc), sear the steaks for 2-3 minutes per side until the desired internal temp is reached: 120-122F for medium-rare and 126-128F for medium. We like to quickly sear the edges as well.

It’s vital that you rest the steak(s) for 10 minutes or so after searing to allow carryover cooking to finish these proteins perfectly (internal temps will rise another 5-10 degrees).

If you’ve not reverse seared steaks yet, give this method a spin – you’ll come back to it time and time again.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Miso Curry Chicken and Snap Pea Stir Fry

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Even though the interval between the feast of Thanksgiving and the revelry of the Christmas and New Years week is shorter this year, that’s no reason to not keep slinging some varied and interesting dishes out of your kitchen the next few weeks.

One of my fly fishing buddies sent in a version of this Miso Curry Chicken and Snap Pea Stir Fry a few weeks ago, the week before Thanksgiving in fact, and we’ve just gotten around to fiddling with the recipe this past week here in our own kitchen.

While I’m a big curry fan, my wife typically isn’t, objecting to some curry dishes’ overpowering curry-ness (to the point sometimes of being bitter). The addition of a bit of miso and fresh ginger here seems to soften the curry a bit, and makes for a very interesting, almost subtle, and damned tasty variation that we’d never enjoyed at home before.

Fresh sugar snap peas happened to be piled high in the bin as I shopped a few days back, though this dish plays very well with snow peas or haricots verts (the thin French-style green beans) too.

Don’t skimp on the garlic or ginger, and I think this one’s better with a little more heat as well…

3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
2 and 1/2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp good fresh curry powder
2-3 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
4 tbsp avocado oil, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or mixed with thighs) in 1/2-inch slices
Kosher salt, see notes
3/4 pound prepped and trimmed sugar snap peas, snow peas, or green beans
1/2 cup frozen or fresh (not canned) baby peas
3 green onions, thinly sliced

Combine together the garlic, tamari, miso, curry powder, ginger, red pepper flakes if using, and 2 tbsp oil in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a tbsp or so oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and then sauté the chicken in a single layer until browned, turn and cook for another minute. You just want the second side of the chicken to become opaque; it won’t be cooked all the way through but remove to a plate anyway-there’s more cooking to come.

Now add the final tbsp of oil to the pan and cook the prepped beans (still on medium-high heat) until they brighten in color and begin to char in spots, 2-3 minutes. Remove to the plate with the chicken.

Reduce the heat to medium, and pour the curry-miso mixture into the same pan, and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Look for the garlic to soften a bit and the curry to darken in color. Now add the peas and 1/2 cup of water, then return the chicken and beans to the skillet and toss to coat.

Cook another 3-4 minutes until the sauce has reduced by about half and thickens, tossing occasionally to coat the chicken and beans. Serve hot sprinkled with the chopped green onions/scallions.

Enjoy.

the (Pre) Thanksgiving Friday Feast: The Ultimate Adobo Turkey

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Years ago (and by that I actually mean several decades ago) there was a small quarterly magazine featuring spicy foods of the American Southwest published out of Albuquerque that we subscribed to.

It was simply titled Chile, in all honestly wasn’t that professionally done, but was packed with great recipes, tips and tricks for growing chiles of all sorts, and a smattering of advertising for all things chile-heads loved back in that day. Sadly, and I’m guessing in part given their laser-sharp focus on spicy foods of the Southwest, the magazine vanished in 2006 or 2007, leaving behind little or no trace of their prior work.

We folded a number of their recipes into our family food lexicon, including one for what they called a recado turkey, which was a turkey rubbed with a vinegar and olive oil based rub, actually more like a slather, rich with toasted and coarsely ground peppers and other big, vibrant spices.

Truth be told, it wasn’t my wife’s favorite turkey preparation – the flavors were pretty bold and could be almost astringent at times – but the kids and I loved it, enough that we’d often do two turkeys (especially if entertaining), one a classic brined and roasted bird, and then our special recado turkey.

Much to my chagrin the back issue of Chile which holds the magic recado recipe is packed in storage in another state right now, and several friends and I have been chatting this past week about different ways to spice up the menu for Thanksgiving next week.

As we often do when we’re searching out novel preparations for creative and spicy foods featuring the melting pot cuisine of Texas and the Southwest, I reached out to Chef Libby in Austin and she suggested we give her Ultimate Adobo Turkey a spin. She described it as a pretty classic spin on adobo, built around two acids for tartness (cider vinegar and freshly squeezed orange juice), an impressive handful of toasted guajillo and ancho chiles along with fresh garlic, and a well-balanced spice array.

I was easily convinced to give the recipe a spin, and decided to incorporate the cooking method that the team at Bon Appetite is pushing this year – cutting up your turkey into several more manageable pieces pre-roasting, almost akin to spatchcocking, but with two distinct advantages. One, with the legs and wings removed, it’s much easy to slather everything with the adobo. And two, the cut-up turkey cooks much faster, with both sides browning well when using the rack. The turkey pictured was a smaller one (about eleven pounds), but I think we’ll be using this method for years to come no matter how big the bird.

The adobo is outrageously good; Libby folds at least half a cup into her favorite gravy recipe when serving on her own table or for catering gigs, and a couple of tablespoons folded into your homemade avocado oil mayo recipe will change your leftover turkey sandwiches forever.

You’ll want to try this one – it’s hands down the best turkey prep we’ve ever enjoyed.

8 dried guajillo chiles
6 dried ancho chiles
8 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp + 1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
1 tbsp dried thyme leaves
1 inch of cinnamon stick, smashed
4 whole allspice
2 cloves
2/3 cup ACV
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
1 tbsp good salt

Wipe the chiles clean, then stem, seed, and toast in a large skillet (cast iron wins here) over medium-high heat until fragrant, pliable, and slightly changed in color.

Place the toasted chiles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water and soak until softened (20-25 minutes). Drain the soaking liquid when softened.

While the chiles are soaking, toast the spices over medium-low heat until fragrant; keep them moving in the pan so they don’t burn (this should only take 2-3 minutes).

Into your trusty blender goes the ACV, orange juice, oil, toasted spices, garlic, salt, and the soaked – and drained – chiles; puree until very smooth. Be patient here, the mixture will likely be thick (add more orange juice if liquid is needed to get it moving), and you want to be sure and break up the whole spices.

Prep your turkey (see the discussion above), pat it dry, the coat all the turkey pieces with the adobo, reaching as far under the skin as you can. Place the rubbed turkey/turkey pieces on a rack in a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and throw in the fridge for at least 8 hours and up to a day.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425, and line a clean baking sheet with three layers of foil, top with a clean rack, and then arrange the turkey/turkey pieces atop the rack. Add 1 cup of water to the baking sheet. Roast the turkey for 30 minutes at this temperature, rotating the rack front to back at 15 minutes.

Reduce the oven to 300, add water to the pan if needed, and continue to roast until the breast temp reads 150 and the thighs 170 on an instant read thermometer, adding water every to the roasting pan every thirty minutes or so as needed. Total cooking time depends on your turkey size, but should be somewhere around 75-90 minutes.

When done, tent (loosely) with foil and let rest at least 30 minutes before carving (60 is better).

Enjoy.